Jonny Donahoe stars in the one-man play that recounts a life lived in the shadow of suicide.

James Grieve, George Perrin, Jonny Donahoe

The Paines Plough and Pentabus Theatre Company production of Every Brilliant Thing, which made its North American premiere at Off-Broadway's Barrow Street Theatre in December 2014, airs on HBO December 26 at 8 PM ET.

Watch the trailer for the HBO Documentary Films release below:

Olivier Award nominee Duncan Macmillan’s play, critically acclaimed in London, Edinburgh, and New York, was directed Off-Broadway by George Perrin. Jonny Donahoe starred in the one-man play, which was filmed at the Barrow Street in 2015.

Emmy winners Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato (Inside Deep Throat; HBO’s Wishful Drinking and Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures) produced and directed the film, which made its world premiere at the DOC NYC Festival November 12 at IFC Center.

Every Brilliant Thing, according to HBO, “opens as Donahoe greets the arriving audience with handwritten notes instructing them to participate when called upon. He then proceeds to tell a story spanning nearly three decades and several life-changing events, evoking laughter and tears in equal measure. Donahoe charms spectators into acting opposite him in various roles, fostering an intimate sense of community through comic dialogues. Striking a delicate balance between sobering loss and cathartic laughter, the film doesn’t flinch from harsh realities, as Donahoe muses on everything from Marilyn Monroe’s death, to the Samaritans’ rules for reporting on suicide, which highlight everything the media typically gets wrong.”